Written Answers Tuesday 26 April 2005

Scottish Executive

Access for Disabled People

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11312 by Nicol Stephen on 8 November 2004, whether it will publish an updated version of the answer reconciling the total with the data in the table.

Nicol Stephen: The overall figure, given in the answer, for the number of blue badges at 31 March 2004 was correct. However, the table omitted to show the number of blue badges for Aberdeen City of 7,834. The correct table is now shown. Figures published in Scottish Transport Statistics show the correct breakdown of badges. The Scottish Executive is now in the process of collecting information from local authorities on the number of blue badge holders as at 31 March 2005.

  

Council
 
Council
 


Aberdeen City
7,834
Highland 
10,143


Aberdeenshire
10,011
Inverclyde
3,817


Angus
5,005
Midlothian
3,912


Argyll and Bute
3,701
Moray
3,631


Clackmannanshire
2,219
North Ayrshire
10,602


Dumfries and Galloway
8,041
North Lanarkshire
15,524


Dundee City
6,327
Orkney Islands
848


East Ayrshire
6,892
Perth and Kinross
6,344


East Dunbartonshire
4,330
Renfrewshire
6,420


East Lothian 
3,751
Scottish Borders
5,221


East Renfrewshire
1,257
Shetland Islands
621


Edinburgh, City Of
16,057
South Ayrshire
5,217


Eilean Siar
261
South Lanarkshire
13,694


Falkirk
7,166
Stirling
3,908


Fife
17,832
West Dunbartonshire
2,974


Glasgow, City Of
23,243
West Lothian
7,192


Total
223,995

Bridges

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 demanding subscription applies to the Assignation Statement in respect of the Skye Bridge tolls.

Nicol Stephen: No.

Bridges

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the Assignation Statement in respect of the Skye Bridge tolls was made; who made it, and how it was made.

Nicol Stephen: The Assignation Statement was made by the then Secretary of State for Scotland. It was made available for public inspection, and notices to this effect were published on 23 October and 1 November 1991, as required under Paragraph 14A(3) of Schedule 1 to the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.

Bridges

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Assignation Statement in respect of the Skye Bridge tolls is the legal equivalent to a general scheme or an order that is made by ministers.

Nicol Stephen: Neither. It is a statement with respect to the assignation by the then Secretary of State for Scotland of his rights to charge and collect tolls under the Invergarry-Kyle of Lochalsh Trunk Road (A87) Extension (Skye Bridge Crossing) Toll Order.

Bridges

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, given that it acknowledges the Assignation Statement in respect of the Skye Bridge tolls is not probative, how the statutory aspect of the assignation is proved in law.

Nicol Stephen: The Assignation Statement is valid even though it is not a probative (or self-evidencing) document. It complies with the requirements of paragraph 14A of schedule 1 to the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and the Assignation Statement (Prescribed Information) (Scotland) Regulations 1991. The Appeal Court, the High Court of Justiciary, in the stated cases of Smith and others v Procurator Fiscal, Dingwall, considered submissions that the Assignation Statement did not satisfy those requirements. On 16 December 1999 the court, in its decision, rejected these submissions.

Central Heating

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7906 by Mr Frank McAveety on 27 June 2000, whether it will publish an updated version of the answer reconciling the totals with the data in the tables.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The amount spent by each local authority from 1999-2004 is shown in the first table, and the allocation for each local authority for 2004-05 is shown in the second table. It should be noted that in 2004-05 grant was made available for local authorities to treat private sector properties as well as their own stock.

  Warm Deal Spend by Local Authority Since 1999

  

Local Authority
April 1999 to March 2000
April 2000 to March 2001
April 2001 to March 2002
April 2002 to March 2003
April 2003 to March 2004


Aberdeen
£81,847
£69,231
£15,000
£18,077
£259,715


Aberdeenshire
£52,153
£35,383
£29,614
£20,000
£147,000


Angus
£10,769
£50,000
£47,000
£30,000
£95,766


Argyll and Bute
£42,382
£50,000
£35,000
£0
£32,276


Clackmannanshire
£50,000
£60,000
£25,462
£0
£58,626


Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
£14,076
£23,154
£44,614
£10,000
£16,904


Dumfries and Galloway
£64,460
£69,846
£69,692
£40,000
£0


Dundee City
£160,000
£161,461
£100,000
£30,000
£45,640


East Ayrshire
£89,522
£100,000
£60,000
£20,000
£90,000


East Dumbarton
£41,308
£60,000
£54,000
£30,000
£51,101


East Lothian
£70,000
£80,000
£75,000
£10,000
£100,000


East Renfrewshire
£38,154
£45,000
£22,038
£0
£15,000


Edinburgh
£199,615
£199,383
£130,000
£109,461
£130,074


Falkirk
£110,000
£130,000
£42,076
£4,922
£0


Fife
£140,000
£140,000
£80,000
£30,000
£124,547


Glasgow City
£494,753
£550,000
£275,000
£90,000
£0


Highland
£45,193
£70,000
£41,000
£10,000
£62,500


Inverclyde
£60,000
£70,000
£45,000
£10,000
£25,000


Midlothian
£50,000
£60,000
£40,000
£9,923
£27,538


Moray
£60,000
£25,384
£16,923
£0
£68,000


North Ayrshire
£60,000
£70,000
£75,000
£130,769
£160,685


North Lanarkshire
£266,615
£280,000
£278,846
£160,000
£420,124


Orkney
£14,307
£19,769
£9,846
£10,000
£4,432


Perth and Kinross
£0
£0
£0
£0
£0


Renfrewshire
£90,000
£100,000
£59,923
£20,000
£57,500


Scottish Borders
£40,000
£49,231
£49,769
£30,000
£0


Shetland
£15,191
£15,000
£16,615
£1,154
£13,945


South Ayrshire
£69,692
£80,000
£80,000
£50,000
£104,220


South Lanarkshire
£167,384
£190,000
£104,923
£29,998
£160,619


Stirling
£22,922
£39,076
£19,692
£20,000
£70,466


West Dunbartonshire
£80,000
£90,000
£65,000
£18,615
£25,404


West Lothian
£47,154
£40,692
£20,000
£20,000
£146,785


Total
£2,747,497
£3,022,610
£2,027,033
£962,919
£2,513,867



  Warm Deal Allocation April 2004 to March 2005

  

Local Authority
Own Stock
Private Sector


Aberdeen
£131,000
£21,263


Aberdeenshire
£75,000
£56,887


Angus
£45,000
£27,826


Argyll and Bute
£31,000
£34,382


Clackmannanshire
£29,000
£7,398


Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
£10,000
£17,391


Dumfries and Galloway
£0
£60,340


Dundee
£86,000
£30,382


East Ayrshire
£78,000
£17,867


East Dunbartonshire
£22,000
£11,455


East Lothian
£45,000
£16,558


East Renfrewshire
£20,000
£17,830


Edinburgh
£128,000
£101,405


Falkirk
£85,000
£17,897


Fife
£180,000
£63,523


Glasgow
£0
£100,854


Highland
£79,000
£65,343


Inverclyde
£49,000
£13,306


Midlothian
£35,000
£8,491


Moray
£34,000
£29,923


North Ayrshire
£80,000
£21,828


North Lanarkshire
£217,000
£30,950


Orkney Islands
£10,000
£11,623


Perth and Kinross
£44,000
£0


Renfrewshire
£80,000
£27,009


Scottish Borders
£0
£0


Shetland
£11,000
£8,536


South Ayrshire
£50,000
£29,908


South Lanarkshire
£166,000
£47,058


Stirling
£35,000
£15,365


West Dunbartonshire
£65,000
£7,700


West Lothian
£70,000
£12,705


 
£1,990,000
£933,003

Central Heating

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-229 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 2 June 2003, whether it will publish an updated version of the answer reconciling the totals with the data in the tables.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The number of households to benefit from each of the programmes is as follows:

  Warm Deal

  

 
July 1999* to March 2000
April 2000 to March 2001
April 2001 to March 2002
April 2002 to March 2003
April 2003 to March 2004
Total


Local Authority Programme
22,318
22,660
18,549
8,321
7,643
79,491


Eaga Managed Programme
16,131
26,555
22,328
21,755
21,600
108,369


Total
38,449
49,215
40,877
30,076
29,243
187,860



  Note: *The Warm Deal Programme commenced in July 1999 as the successor to the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

  Central Heating Programme

  

 
April 2001 - March 20021
April 2002 - March 2003
April 2003 - March 2004
Total


Local Authority Programme
4,007
4,085
4,6812
12,773


Eaga Managed Programme
3,560
5,500
10,200
19,260


Housing Association Programme (managed by Communities Scotland)
941
1,635
2,710
5,286


Total
8,508
11,220
17,591
37,319



  Notes:

  1. The Central Heating Programme commenced in April 2001

  2. The figure for the local authority programme in 2003-04 includes 803 properties where partial central heating was upgraded.

  The figures for 2004-05 are yet to be confirmed.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitments made during the debate in the Parliament on Institutional Child Abuse on 1 December 2004 and the letter of 21 December 2004 from the Minister for Education and Young People to the Convener of the Public Petitions Committee, whether all relevant files, appropriately redacted, are now available for public inspection and, if not, which organisations have not allowed access to such files.

Peter Peacock: All relevant files held by the Scottish Executive are now available for public inspection. Full details on how to access these files can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/education/accesstoinfo/residentialestablishments .

  We are currently collating information about other organisations who are making the information they hold available and intend to extend our webpage to include links to these organisations in due course.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitments made during the debate in the Parliament on Institutional Child Abuse on 1 December 2004 and the letter of 21 December 2004 from the Minister for Education and Young People to the Convener of the Public Petitions Committee, what support has been put in place for individuals who wish to access the files referred to.

Peter Peacock: A helpline has been set up by the Executive. Run by Who Cares? Scotland this local charge telephone helpline service will assist people who want information about how to access information held by the Executive and with understanding the access process. The helpline operates on a Tuesday and Wednesday evening between the hours of 6 and 8pm and can be reached on 08448 000 223.

  Who Cares? Scotland may also provide referral information about where people can go for assistance (such as legal and counselling services) if required.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitments made during the debate in the Parliament on Institutional Child Abuse on 1 December 2004 and the letter of 21 December 2004 from the Minister for Education and Young People to the Convener of the Public Petitions Committee, when the short-life working group to scope the level of support services available to survivors of in care abuse was established; what the remit and membership of the group is, and when it began its work.

Peter Peacock: The membership of the short-life working group will be announced shortly.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitments made during the debate in the Parliament on Institutional Child Abuse on 1 December 2004 and the letter of 21 December 2004 from the Minister for Education and Young People to the Convener of the Public Petitions Committee, whether it has appointed someone with experience to undertake independent analysis of the regulatory requirements of the time and, if so, what the appointee’s remit is.

Peter Peacock: We are in the final stages of discussing the remit with interested parties and an announcement on the appointment of the independent expert will be made soon.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitments made during the debate in the Parliament on Institutional Child Abuse on 1 December 2004 and the letter of 21 December 2004 from the Minister for Education and Young People to the Convener of the Public Petitions Committee, what financial support has been given to the In Care Abuse Survivors Group (INCAS) to help develop support for survivors of institutional child abuse.

Peter Peacock: My officials met with representatives of INCAS on 10 December 2004 to discuss this. Since then the Executive has paid for mentoring and developmental work to be undertaken with INCAS. A proposed business plan, including information on the level of financial support being sought from the Executive, is due to be submitted to the Executive in the near future.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitments made during the debate in the Parliament on Institutional Child Abuse on 1 December 2004 and the letter of 21 December 2004 from the Minister for Education and Young People to the Convener of the Public Petitions Committee, what input the In Care Abuse Survivors Group (INCAS) has had in respect of the appointment of someone with experience to independently analyse the regulatory requirements of the time.

Peter Peacock: This was discussed at a meeting between my officials and representatives of INCAS on 10 December 2004 when INCAS were invited to make suggestions of potential candidates and to provide input into the characteristics they felt were important in any appointee. INCAS has since contributed various suggestions and are being kept up-to-date with developments.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitments made during the debate in the Parliament on Institutional Child Abuse on 1 December 2004 and the letter of 21 December 2004 from the Minister for Education and Young People to the Convener of the Public Petitions Committee, what input the In Care Abuse Survivors Group (INCAS) has had in respect of the membership and remit of the short-life working group to scope the level of support services available to survivors of in care abuse.

Peter Peacock: The idea of having a group to specifically scope the level of support services available to survivors of in care abuse arose out of discussions between INCAS and my officials. Subsequently, at both a meeting with officials on 10 December 2004 and again in correspondence of 10 March 2005 INCAS has been invited to submit membership suggestions for the short-life working group. The remit of this group has also been discussed with INCAS.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitments made during the debate in the Parliament on Institutional Child Abuse on 1 December 2004 and the letter of 21 December 2004 from the Minister for Education and Young People to the Convener of the Public Petitions Committee, which organisations have now made a full apology to survivors of institutional child abuse.

Peter Peacock: The First Minister apologised on behalf of the people of Scotland on 1 December 2004. Information on other organisations is not held centrally.

Customs and Excise

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to HM Customs and Excise: Stopping illegal imports of animal products into Great Britain , published by the National Audit Office (NAO) on 23 March 2005, and what further steps it will take to prevent such imports from entering Scotland.

Ross Finnie: We welcome the publication of the NAO report and recognition of the good work that customs are doing to tighten controls and improve the UK’s protection from illegal imports of animal products from countries outside the EU.

  We, in association with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Welsh Assembly, and customs are already taking forward many of the recommendations included within the report, particularly with regard to those aimed at heightening public awareness.

  Customs will be exploring the other recommendations on enforcement issues.

  We will continue to work closely with customs to reduce the risk of disease entering the UK.

Cycling

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to promote the wider use of bicycle safety helmets.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive provides funding to the Scottish Road Safety Campaign for the development of key road safety education initiatives and publicity messages. The campaign encourages the use of protective headgear through the Scottish Cycle Training Scheme and other promotional materials.

Cycling

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce measures, for example through the Scottish Cycle Training Scheme, to reduce the cost of bicycle safety helmets to people in low income households.

Nicol Stephen: No. However, to encourage the purchase of cycle helmets, all cycle helmets have been zero rated for VAT since 1 April 2001.

Digital Technology

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8744 by Peter Peacock on 16 June 2004, whether the target of achieving an average pupil to modern computer ratio of 7.5:1 for primary schools has now been met.

Peter Peacock: The latest information, from the 2004 pupil census (available online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/11114958/50011 ) shows that the pupil:modern computer ratio in primary schools has remained steady at 9:1 in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 1988 the ratio was 34:1.

Digital Technology

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11571 by Nicol Stephen on 18 November 2004, how many broadband connections have now been made as a direct result of its Pathfinder project and how many are expected to be made by the end of 2005.

Nicol Stephen: There have been no broadband connections made as a result of the Pathfinder projects to date. Local councils are directly responsible for this project and have notified this to the European Commission for State Aid approval.

Education

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to teach more school pupils through the medium of Scots.

Peter Peacock: The detailed delivery of the curriculum is a matter for local authorities. This covers both teaching in and about Scots. The Scottish Executive’s National Guidelines on English Language 5-14 , advises schools to "encourage discussion and develop perceptions of Scottish languages, and how they relate to the lives and experiences of Scottish people". This guidance also comments on the status of Scots in schools by suggesting that Scottish writing and writing about Scotland should permeate the curriculum and be introduced from an early stage, taking its place beside English literature. The guidelines note that the language children bring to school is often distinctive and schools should "enable pupils to be confident and creative in this language". Scottish ministers welcome the use of Itchy-Coo materials and personnel in schools but recognise that the selection of these and other Scots materials is a matter for schools and education authorities.

  The Scottish Executive does not hold information on the number of schools using the Itchy-Coo Scots language materials or project.

Education

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any children have been unable to achieve their potential as a result of being taught only through the medium of English.

  The member has provided the following Scots translation:

  Tae speir at the Scottish Executive gin ony bairns hasnae been able tae rax their potential acause o bein learnt throu the medium o English by its lane.

Peter Peacock: The Executive does not have any evidence to support this statement. It is the responsibility of schools and teachers to ensure that learning, teaching and assessment support all pupils’ progress and achievement, using whichever approaches and media best meet their individual needs.

Employment

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12471 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004, what percentage of the workforce would have to be employed to meet its definition of "full employment".

Mr Jim Wallace: There is no widely accepted employment rate that corresponds to full employment. The Executive’s definition of full employment is employment opportunity for all, which is only achievable by ensuring opportunities for people in the whole of society throughout their working lives.

Energy

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution it envisages micro combined heat and power gas boilers will make to the production of baseload electricity.

Mr Jim Wallace: The planning and regulation of baseload electricity is a reserved matter, responsibility for which lies with Ofgem and the DTI.

Energy Efficiency

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will implement the requirements of EU Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  The EU Directive 2002/91/EC on the Energy Performance of Buildings will be implemented in Scotland by the SBSA, on behalf of Scottish ministers, using the new building standards system.

Energy Efficiency

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all of the procedures necessary to introduce the energy certification of buildings can be introduced through building regulations.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  Energy certification of buildings can be introduced through the building standards system. All the primary legislation is in place with the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 coming into force on 1 May 2005. Secondary legislation and supporting guidance will be required to commence a roll-out of certificates.

Energy Efficiency

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether EU Directive 2002/91/EC will be fully implemented by 4 January 2006.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  It is intended that the directive will be fully implemented by 4 January 2006 with regard to energy performance requirements. However, if member states have a lack of qualified and/or accredited experts to enable them to apply fully the provisions of certain articles that require inspection or certification, the directive permits an additional three years to carry this out. Any notification to the European Commission of the need to do this will be done by the UK Government. Numbers of experts available are currently being assessed.

Energy Efficiency

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce any central method for recording information gathered in energy performance certificates in order to improve knowledge of the building stock.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004, which come into force on 1 May, require local authorities to maintain an electronic register for the geographical area of the authority relating to building standards information. For construction of dwellings, energy ratings will be recorded. The possibility of extending the scope of the register to include energy performance certificate information for all buildings is currently being investigated.

Fuel Poverty

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11715 by Johann Lamont on 9 November 2004, whether it will publish an updated version of the answer reconciling the totals with the data in the table.

Johann Lamont: As stated in the answer to question S2W-11715 on 8 November 2004, the Scottish House Condition Survey is the only source we have for reliably measuring fuel poverty. The latest available information from the Scottish House Condition Survey 2002 was provided in the answer to S2W-11715. The all-Scotland figure of 286,000 fuel poor households is slightly higher than the sum of the number of fuel poor households in each local authority because the local authority and Scotland estimates have been independently rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Gaelic

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13027 by Peter Peacock on 14 January 2005, whether it will publish an updated version of the answer reconciling the totals with the data in the tables.

Peter Peacock: There is no need to publish an updated version. The information is correct and the figures are given in full-time equivalent terms and apparent discrepancies result from rounding up or down in both the data and the totals.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33414 by Mr Jim Wallace on 5 February 2003, how many, and what percentage of, persons convicted of drug offences were convicted for (a) supplying and trafficking and (b) possession of (i) cannabis, (ii) cocaine, (iii) ecstasy, (iv) heroin, (v) amphetamines and (vi) other illegal drugs in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following tables.

  The figures provided on the total number of persons with a charge proved for drug offences are derived from the Scottish Executive Justice Department’s court proceedings database. This database does not currently hold information on the type of drug involved in all such convictions. However, it is possible to make use of separate data collected by the Home Office to estimate the proportion of convictions involving different types of drug and offence at Scotland level, and the proportion of all drug convictions by type of drug at force level.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for Drug Offences1 in Scottish Courts, by Type of Offence and Police Force Area, 1999-2003

  

Police Force Area
Supply and Trafficking3
Possession


Number
% of all Drug Convictions
Number
% of all Drug Convictions


Central
 


1999
84
32
174
67


2000
64
27
170
72


2001
100
29
242
71


2002
89
24
284
76


20032
119
26
327
72


Dumfries and Galloway
 


1999
62
36
110
64


2000
44
34
86
66


2001
37
38
60
62


2002
47
35
86
65


20032
49
34
94
64


Fife
 


1999
109
37
186
63


2000
40
27
107
72


2001
72
45
88
55


2002
89
43
118
57


20032
86
49
88
51


Grampian
 


1999
153
23
501
76


2000
117
26
337
74


2001
116
19
496
81


2002
132
23
432
77


20032
155
21
588
79


Lothian and Borders
 


1999
205
26
591
74


2000
196
27
540
73


2001
198
26
577
74


2002
162
29
403
71


20032
202
34
385
66


Northern
 


1999
60
19
250
80


2000
43
16
222
83


2001
72
21
277
79


2002
65
17
318
83


20032
85
21
327
79


Strathclyde
 


1999
793
23
2,648
77


2000
698
23
2,285
77


2001
695
24
2,234
76


2002
640
21
2,407
79


20032
818
20
3,182
79


Tayside
 


1999
122
24
384
76


2000
116
25
352
75


2001
98
21
370
79


2002
129
25
391
75


20032
125
21
457
79


Scotland
 


1999
1,588
25
4,844
75


2000
1,318
24
4,099
76


2001
1,388
24
4,344
76


2002
1,353
23
4,439
77


20032
1,639
23
5,448
77



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes estimated data.

  3. Includes offences of unlawful production of drugs, unlawful supply, possession with intent to supply unlawfully and unlawful import or export.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for Drug Offences1 in Scottish Courts, by Type of Offence, Type of Drug and Police Force Area, 1999-2003

  Estimated Percentage of Persons Convicted of all Drug Offences3

  

Police Force Area
Total Number of Persons
Cannabis
Cocaine
Ecstasy
Heroin
Amphetamines
Other Drugs


Scotland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
Supplying and trafficking4


1999
1,588
13
1
2
6
4
n/a


2000
1,318
10
1
2
6
3
n/a


2001
1,388
8
1
3
6
1
n/a


2002
1,353
6
1
3
5
1
n/a


2003
1,639
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


 
Possession


1999
4,844
66
1
3
13
10
n/a


2000
4,099
66
2
4
12
7
n/a


2001
4,344
63
2
6
14
4
n/a


2002
4,439
64
2
6
13
3
n/a


20032
5,448
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


 
All drug offences


Central
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1999
259
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


2000
235
74
0
4
18
8
2


2001
342
67
0
8
33
8
8


2002
373
88
0
6
18
6
0


20032
452
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


Dumfries and Galloway
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1999
172
72
1
3
25
10
2


2000
130
65
0
4
27
9
5


2001
97
69
0
6
31
6
6


2002
133
74
0
5
32
0
11


20032
146
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


Fife
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1999
296
81
0
4
8
15
3


2000
148
78
0
7
15
13
2


2001
160
63
0
11
21
11
5


2002
207
78
0
6
14
6
3


20032
174
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


Grampian
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1999
656
71
2
6
18
12
4


2000
455
68
4
13
19
6
5


2001
613
71
6
13
20
2
6


2002
564
74
9
11
26
6
6


20032
743
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


Lothian and Borders
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1999
796
83
3
6
7
17
6


2000
738
83
2
6
9
15
5


2001
776
81
2
12
12
7
5


2002
567
87
2
8
15
3
3


20032
587
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


Northern
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1999
311
88
0
3
1
15
1


2000
267
88
2
8
3
7
2


2001
349
94
0
6
6
6
0


2002
384
91
0
13
6
9
6


20032
412
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


Strathclyde
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1999
3,442
67
2
3
24
12
13


2000
2,984
68
3
4
22
9
10


2001
2,931
67
3
5
22
4
12


2002
3,052
72
4
7
22
4
14


20032
4,009
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


Tayside
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1999
507
84
1
6
3
10
6


2000
469
83
2
8
2
7
5


2001
468
78
4
18
8
6
4


2002
521
74
5
15
11
6
11


20032
582
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a


Scotland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1999
6,439
73
2
4
18
13
9


2000
5,426
73
2
6
17
9
7


2001
5,736
71
3
8
19
5
9


2002
5,801
80
4
9
20
5
11


20032
7,105
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a



  Notes:

  n/a: Not available.

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes estimated data.

  3. Estimated from Home Office data for persons found guilty, cautioned or given a fiscal fine. As an offence can involve more than one type of drug, columns cannot be added together to produce sub-totals or totals.

  4. Includes offences of unlawful production of drugs, unlawful supply, possession with intent to supply unlawfully and unlawful import or export.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent figures available are on what percentage of (a) male and (b) female prisoners were reconvicted within (i) two and (ii) four years of discharge, broken down by category of offence in each police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The latest available information, which relates to the cohort of offenders discharged from a custodial sentence in 1999, is given in the following tables. The data for female offenders is not provided by crime group within police force areas as the very small numbers involved at this level of breakdown means that there is the potential for individual offenders to be identified.

  Females Discharged from Custody in 1999:

  Percentage Reconvicted within Two and Four Years by Police Force Area and Index Crime Group1

  

Police Force Area
Index Crime Group1,2
Number Discharged from Custody (=100%)
Percentage Reconvicted within 2 Years
Percentage Reconvicted within 4 Years


Central
All
19
68
79


Dumfries and Galloway
All
12
67
67


Fife 
All
12
8
33


Grampian
All
20
50
60


Lothian and Borders
All
37
49
59


Northern
All
12
50
50


Strathclyde
All
171
68
79


Tayside
All
20
60
80


Scotland 
All
303
61
72


Violence
31
45
58


Indecency
0
0
0


Dishonesty
147
73
82


Criminal damage
7
71
86


Other crime
75
35
53


Miscellaneous offences
43
72
77



  Males Discharged from Custody in 1999:

  Percentage Reconvicted within Two and Four Years by Police Force Area and Index Crime Group1

  

Police Force Area
Index Crime Group1,2
Number Discharged from Custody (=100%)
Percentage Reconvicted within 2 Years
Percentage Reconvicted within 4 Years


Central
All
220
65
75


Violence
32
56
72


Indecency
11
18
27


Dishonesty
85
89
95


Criminal damage
8
38
50


Other crime
36
33
53


Miscellaneous offences
48
65
75


Dumfries and Galloway
All
169
58
67


Violence
20
30
45


Indecency
4
0
25


Dishonesty
77
82
87


Criminal damage
4
75
75


Other crime
37
41
46


Miscellaneous offences
27
41
59


Fife
All
259
59
68


Violence
45
33
44


Indecency
16
25
25


Dishonesty
134
78
84


Criminal damage
6
67
83


Other crime
27
33
52


Miscellaneous offences
31
58
65


Grampian

All
315
64
74


Violence
33
39
70


Indecency
10
0
0


Dishonesty
148
80
85


Criminal damage
8
100
100


Other crime
71
38
52


Miscellaneous offences
45
76
84


Lothian and Borders
All
783
53
64


Violence
124
41
56


Indecency
49
16
24


Dishonesty
290
65
74


Criminal damage
19
68
68


Other crime
121
38
57


Miscellaneous offences
180
58
69


Northern
All
193
50
62


Violence
21
38
57


Indecency
13
15
15


Dishonesty
43
65
74


Criminal damage
11
73
73


Other crime
38
18
37


Miscellaneous offences
67
64
78


Strathclyde
All
3,141
62
74


Violence
461
39
57


Indecency
86
21
27


Dishonesty
1,338
77
86


Criminal damage
66
62
76


Other crime
607
48
64


Miscellaneous offences
583
67
76


Tayside
All
355
59
68


Violence
53
43
49


Indecency
27
11
11


Dishonesty
125
76
81


Criminal damage
6
83
83


Other crime
66
47
65


Miscellaneous offences
78
69
81


Scotland
All
5,435
60
71


Violence
789
40
56


Indecency
216
17
22


Dishonesty
2,240
76
84


Criminal damage
128
66
75


Other crime
1,003
44
60


Miscellaneous offences
1,059
65
75



  Notes:

  1. Includes convictions for common assault, breach of the peace, racially aggravated conduct and harassment, firearms offences, social security offences and all offences classified as crimes in the Scottish Executive Justice Department (SEJD) classification of crimes and offences. Excludes convictions for motor vehicle offences, some miscellaneous offences and all convictions outwith Scotland.

  2. SEJD crime group of index conviction.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it places on the use of fixed penalty notices over district court hearings.

Cathy Jamieson: We believe that fixed penalty notices, correctly and appropriately used, are an important part of a modern criminal justice system. They offer a quick, proportionate and effective response to a number of instances of minor offending, making clear to the offender, and the community, that such behaviour will not be tolerated. We also believe that a court hearing, with the wider range of disposals available, can be the most effective response to a range of offending behaviour.

  That is why we propose to maintain summary court capacity in addition to developing appropriate uses of alternatives to prosecution. Our priority is to develop a range of flexible responses to tackle offending which can be appropriately used by the police, prosecutors and the courts. Our package of summary justice reform was outlined in Smarter Justice, Safer Communities. Summary Justice Reform, Next Step, published on 22 March 2005 and available on the Executive’s website at: www.scotland.gov.uk/about/JD/CP/00019008/Homepage.aspx.

NHS Staff

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered disabled (a) qualified nurses, (b) qualified physiotherapists, (c) qualified occupational therapists and (d) speech therapists worked in each NHS board area in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (vi) 2004.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Executive and NHSScotland are committed to offering equality of employment opportunity to all.

  NHSScotland employers support applications from people with disabilities and strive to ensure that people can continue in meaningful employment. To increase awareness, I launched the diversity awareness poster campaign on 31 March. This campaign aims to introduce the workforce to equality and diversity in a positive way and also show NHSScotland as having an inclusive and welcoming working environment.

Nuclear Power

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what costs it has incurred in respect of the nuclear industry in each of the last five years, broken down by department and showing also the year-on-year percentage change.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive has not incurred any programme costs in respect of the nuclear industry in the last five years. As regards running costs, a small team of staff in Environment and Rural Affairs Department deal with policy on radioactive waste matters in Scotland generally. Nuclear power also forms a small part of the work of the energy policy team in Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department.

Prison Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14109 by Cathy Jamieson on 2 March 2005, what plans it has to gather and produce more detailed statistical analysis on an on-going basis in respect of women returning to custody.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Statistical methods used to provide information on return to custody are under continual review. Wherever it is statistically possible, prisoner sub-populations are examined for particular trends. SPS produce information on women returning to custody on an annual basis (Return to custody in Scottish prisons, SPS Research Bulletin).

Prison Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14102 by Cathy Jamieson on 2 March 2005, what the average cost of each daily meal per prisoner is and whether it will provide the testimonies of the nutritionists who stated that all menus meet dietary needs.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Information on average costs is not available. The nutrition report, referred to in S2W-14102, can be found on the SPS website at: http://www.sps.gov.uk/keydocs/Nutrition%20Report/Nutrition%20Report.pdf.

Rail Network

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the status is of plans to introduce a rail service from Stirling to Motherwell.

Nicol Stephen: Plans for a Stirling to Motherwell rail service will be taken forward through a Sub Group of the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies Delivery Issues Group. The sub group is chaired by Strathclyde Passenger Transport and includes representatives of local authorities and the Scottish Executive.

  Implementation will be considered in more detail through the sub group, with input from First ScotRail and Network Rail.

Rail Network

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15164 by Nicol Stephen on 24 March 2005, whether it is in a position to indicate whether a Director for Scotland will be appointed as a single point of contact for the Executive.

Nicol Stephen: Network Rail will remain a private sector company and its internal management arrangements are a matter for the company.

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of the public local inquiry on the M74 Special Road (Fullarton Road to West of Kingston Bridge) Orders, detailing each component and element of the total costs and broken down into costs incurred by (a) the Inquiry Reporters Unit, (b) the civil service and (c) others.

Nicol Stephen: The latest recorded costs incurred by the Inquiry Reporters Unit and the Executive are given in the table. Costs incurred by others represented at the Inquiry are not known.

  

 
Estimated Cost


(a) Estimated cost to the Inquiry Reporters Unit:
£41,855.00


(b) Estimated cost to the Executive1
 


Legal Fees and Administration
£152,673.11


Consultants Fees
£327,735.29


Total cost
£522,263.40



  Note: 1. The costs in the table represent the Executive’s contribution of 87.35% to the total cost of the scheme. Civil Service staff costs are not recorded.

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the legal basis was for the voluntary purchase of plots referred to in Annex B of the letter of 24 March 2005 containing Scottish ministers’ decision on the M74.

Nicol Stephen: Powers to purchase property in advance are available to the Scottish ministers under Sections 103 and 104 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to Annex B of the letter of 24 March 2005 containing Scottish ministers’ decision on the M74, how much it cost to purchase each plot where the plot was acquired voluntarily by Scottish ministers and whether it will provide details in respect of (a) where each plot is located, (b) the type of land each plot represented and (c) who the (i) owners, (ii) lessees and (iii) occupants of each plot were.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is given in the table. This includes details of all land acquired to date for the M74 Completion Scheme.

  

Previous Owner (own)/Occupier (occ) or Lessee (les)
Compensation Paid
Location and Type of Plot


South Lanarkshire Council (own)
(ex GKN)
£5,615,000
Vacant land lying to the east of Farmeloan Road and adjacent to the West Coast Mainline Railway. Former GKN Works Site.


James Frew Ltd (own)
£600,000

Factory site lying to the south of Lawmoor Road, leased to Allscot Plastics. 


City Refrigeration Holdings (own)
£13,470,000

Works site and call centre lying to the south and east of Southcroft Road and adjacent to the West Coast Mainline Railway. 


Martec Engineering Group (les)
£775,000
Location as per description for City Refrigeration Holdings above. Works site leased by Martec from City Refrigeration Holdings. Lease acquired by Scottish Ministers after main acquisition.


William Johnstone (own)
£300,000

Factory site lying adjacent to Mauchline Street and Falfield Street. 


South Lanarkshire Council (own)
£435,000
Vacant land lying to the south of Cambuslang Road including George Gray Street.


Kirkwood & Co (own)
£1,001,000

Factory site lying adjacent to Quay Road, Quay Road South and Ashton Road. 


Glasgow City Council (own)
£1,494,215
Buildings lying adjacent to Carnoustie Street, Falfield Street, Salkeld Street and west of Lawmoor Road.


Kingston Car Wash (les)
£390,000
Car wash building lying adjacent to Carnoustie Street. Property owned by Glasgow City Council. 


Albion Chemicals (own)
£7,420,000
Depot site lying between Paterson Street and West Street. 


Wiredash (own) /Motorworld (occ)
£510,000


Car showroom lying adjacent to Farmeloan Road. 


Somerville and Morrison (own)
£310,000
Factory site lying south of Cambuslang Road and to the north of the Rutherglen Rail Depot. Property acquired from owner.


BRG Limited (les)
£925,000
Warehouse lying adjacent to Kinning Street. Property owned by Glasgow City Council.


Scottish Mutual Assurance (own)
£7,100,000
Office buildings lying to the east of Pollokshaws Road. Property is leased to Department for Work and Pensions.

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings took place between Scottish ministers and directors of companies which own, lease or occupy properties which have been, or will be, purchased under the M74 Special Road (Fullarton Road to West of Kingston Bridge) Orders between 1 May 2003 and 24 March 2005.

Nicol Stephen: The Deputy First Minister visited the Morris Furniture Group site at Polmadie Road on 12 August 2003 to meet Mr Robert Morris, the Managing Director. There is no record of any other meetings between Scottish ministers and directors of affected companies.

Sustainable Development

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution it has made, with reference to the Essen European Council of December 2004, to enhancing the efficiency of cooperation between Europe and Asia by promoting a proactive regional strategy to help build Asia’s environmental management capacities in conjunction with Scottish universities.

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution it has made, with reference to the Essen European Council of December 2004, to enhancing the efficiency of cooperation between Europe and Asia by promoting a proactive regional strategy to aid the introduction of environmentally-sustainable and socially-equitable development strategies.

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution it has made, with reference to the Essen European Council of December 2004, to enhancing the efficiency of cooperation between Europe and Asia by promoting a proactive regional strategy to foster environmental research and development networks between Europe and Asia in conjunction with Scottish universities.

Ross Finnie: I am assuming you are referring to the Essen European Council of December 1994.

  The Scottish Executive has taken a comprehensive range of initiatives to improve the quality of our environment. In One Future – different paths published on 7 March with the UK Government, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Office we set out our common vision for sustainable development and our agreed priorities:

  Sustainable Consumption and Protection

  Climate Change and Energy

  Natural Resources Protection and Environmental Enhancement

  Sustainable Communities.

  The Executive does not currently have any collaboration initiatives on environmental or sustainable issues with Asia. We are, however, active in international collaboration. Our Regional Co-operation agreements with Catalonia and Bavaria include environmental matters and we are also active members of the ENCORE network of Regional Environment Ministers.

Sustainable Development

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the European Union’s establishment of a strategy for sustainable development in May 2001, what measures it has put in place to ensure that its policies contribute to combating hunger.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive is committed to playing its part in tackling global poverty and inequality. We will work in partnership with the UK Government and the international development sector in Scotland to this end. In March the First Minister launched the Scottish Executive’s international development strategy. This sets out the contribution that devolved government in Scotland can make, and the responsibilities we have, to developing countries. The Scottish programme is set within the context of the UK Government’s international development policy, which is rooted in the Millennium Development Goals, one of which is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

  The key strands of the Scottish Executive’s policy are focussed on support for developing countries, especially through the development of non-governmental organisations in Scotland; assistance during times of international crises, and active consideration of the positive impact of our policies on the developing world. The policy is intended to focus on Scotland’s key strengths and values, facilitating the transfer of knowledge, skills, and expertise, to where they are needed most in the world. We have made available an international development fund of £3 million per annum to support work in this area.

Sustainable Development

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the European Union’s establishment of a strategy for sustainable development in May 2001, what measures it has put in place to invest more in health, education, training and communicable diseases.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive’s spending plans were published in Building a Better Scotland: Spending Proposals 2005-2008: Enterprise, Opportunity, Fairness on 29 September 2004 and updated in the Draft Budget 2005-06 , published on 15 October 2004. This includes details of expenditure on all of our programmes including health, education, training and communicable diseases. Sustainable development has been one of the main cross-cutting themes deflected in the outcome of the spending reviews the Executive conducted in both 2002 and 2004.

Sustainable Development

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the European Union’s establishment of a strategy for sustainable development in May 2001, what measures it has put in place to promote research relating to sustainable development.

Lewis Macdonald: Sustainable development is a cross-cutting theme which has implications for many of the Scottish Executive’s policies. To help inform and assess its policies, the Executive funds a very wide range of research programmes, information on which can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/research .

  The Scottish Executive is currently developing a new Scottish sustainable development strategy, which will be informed by research drawing in expertise from the broad field of sustainable development. To meet its research needs in this area, the Executive works with a range of organisations, including the Sustainable Development Commission, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs-sponsored Sustainable Development Research Network (SDRN) and the Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER).

Sustainable Development

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the European Union’s establishment of a strategy for sustainable development in May 2001, what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government regarding the issue of member states producing global public goods.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a range of issues, including the issue of member states producing global public goods.

Sustainable Development

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the European Union’s establishment of a strategy for sustainable development in May 2001, what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government in the context of its international development policy regarding debt reduction in developing countries.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a range of issues, including international development.

  The Scottish Executive supports the UK Government’s commitment to tackling international debt and its goal of 100% multilateral debt relief. The Scottish Executive welcomes the lead the UK Government is taking this year, through the Presidencies of the G8 and EU, in calling on the international community to tackle extreme poverty more effectively through debt relief, among other action.

  The First Minister and I strongly support the aims of the MakePovertyHistory campaign, and the Scottish Executive welcomes the fact that the coalition will be raising awareness and allowing all in Scotland to debate issues such as debt.

Sustainable Development

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the European Union’s establishment of a strategy for sustainable development in May 2001, what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government in the context of its international development policy regarding the strengthening of public institutions and civil society in developing countries.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a range of issues, including international development.

  The Scottish Executive supports the UK Government’s position in supporting civil society organisations and public institutions in developing countries.

  The Scottish Executive recognises the important role that civil society and public institutions play in development and the elimination of poverty. We aim to work in partnership with civil society in Scotland and in developing countries to combat world poverty. Civil society development is a key thematic priority area of the Scottish Executive’s international development policy, as it is for the UK government. One of the strands of the policy is that of support for developing countries, especially through the development of non-governmental organisations in Scotland. An international development fund of £3 million per annum has been established to support the international development policy.

Waste Water

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to ensure that urban waste water treatment in Lerwick complies with Council Directive 91/271/EEC.

Lewis Macdonald: Scottish Water have been requested to build a secondary treatment works at Lerwick in compliance with Directive 91/271/EEC. Plans are being finalised and the plant is due for completion in 2006 with final commissioning due in June/July 2006.

Young Offenders

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, of the total number of young people considered to be persistent young offenders in each of the last four years, how many (a) first came into the Children’s Hearing system on care and protection grounds, (b) had serious drug and alcohol issues and (c) started their offending behaviour whilst they were in the care of a local authority, giving the definition of persistent young offender used in the answer.

Cathy Jamieson: Statistics for the children’s hearings system are a matter for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA). The information requested by the member is not held centrally.

  The youth justice performance baseline announced to Parliament on 4 November 2004 (Bib. number 34397) showed that there were 1,201 persistent young offenders in 2003-04. Total numbers for persistent young offenders are not available for years previous to that. Children were identified as persistently offending if they had been referred to the reporter for five offending episodes in the previous six months.